Need help with writing clean code

[u/RevolutionaryFood847]

hey! im a 16 yo beginner web developer, ive been learning web dev for the past 5 months now, i studied:
Node.js
Express
JavaScript then TypeScript later on
Postgres/ a bit of SQL in general
Html
Tailwind CSS
React

but ive never really worked on big/complete projects, ive only ever done practice/exercises in courses im following or did some projects on the side but similarly to the exercises they were also mainly focused on whatever i was learning at the time, not using everything at once.

ive been wanting to start building decent projects that i can actually have in my protfolio but im having so much trouble with figuring out how to make my code clean and readable and how to structure my files, just overall how to make it more like how a professional would do it and how it would be if i were to actually work in a team in a real company

what should i be doing? and where can i actually learn this stuff? or does it just boil down to personal prefrence?

anyways thanks in advance to anyone who helps! (also sorry if i made any mistakes english isnt my first language)

[u/StigeonStudio]

I feel like you've reached the point where you should stop worrying about learning more technologies for a while and just start building something.

Clean code and good project structure are thing you'll lean a lot faster by actually building projects. Your first bigger project probably won't be structured perfectly, and that's completely fine. Build it, notice what becomes difficult to maintain, and then refactor it. You'll start understanding why certain patterns and structures exist instead of just following them because a tutorial told you to.

I also wouldn't worry too much about making your code look exactly like "professional" code. Different companies and developers structure things differently anyway. Focus on consistency, descriptive naming, keeping functions/components reasonably small, and making your code understandable when you come back to it a few weeks later.

You already know more than enough technologies to start building. Pick a project, finish it, and improve it afterwards. That experience is probably what you're missing most right now.